CALGARY, Alta.
– Two-time IIHF World Junior Championship-medallist and the
WHL’s most winningest coach Don Hay (Kamloops, B.C./Kamloops, WHL)
returns to Hockey Canada’s national men’s team program as head coach of
Canada’s National Men's Under-18 Team at the 2018 IIHF U18 World Championship in
Chelyabinsk and Magnitogorsk, Russia, April 19-29.
Hay’s last role behind the bench for Team Canada was at the 2013 IIHF U18
World Championship hosted in Sochi, Russia, where as head coach he helped
lead the team to gold. Working with Hay this year will be assistant coaches Daniel Renaud (Gatineau, Que./Shawinigan, QMJHL) and Jody Hull (Petrolia, Ont./Hockey Canada).
“This world championship presents a unique challenge every year in that our
team is very dynamic as we add players throughout the tournament. It takes
a special group of coaches and support staff to successfully navigate
through that type of landscape and work quickly to cement the team dynamics
to be successful on and off the ice,” said Scott Salmond, vice-president of
hockey operations and men’s national teams for Hockey Canada. “We feel that
this group, led by Don, Daniel, and Jody, has what we need to tackle this
challenge and bring out the very best in the players who will represent
Canada at this year’s tournament.”
As head coach of Canada’s National Junior Team in 1995 and 2012, Hay has won World Juniors gold and bronze, in addition to
his 2013 IIHF U18 World Championship gold medal. Hay began his coaching
career in 1986 with the Kamloops Blazers, where he moved from assistant
coach to head coach (1992) and went on to lead the team to two President’s
Cup titles and two Memorial Cup titles in three years. His resume includes
assistant and head coaching roles in the NHL with Calgary, Phoenix, and
Anaheim, as well as a stint with the AHL’s Utah Grizzlies. Hay made his most
recent return to the WHL in 2004 with the Vancouver Giants, winning the
Memorial Cup in 2007, before rejoining the Blazers for the 2014-15 season.
Hay won the Dunc McCallum Trophy as WHL coach of the year in 1999 and 2009,
and was inducted into the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2008.
Renaud
completed his first season as head coach of the Shawinigan Cataractes
following four seasons as an assistant coach with the QMJHL’s Rimouski
Océanic (2011-2012) and Quebec Remparts (2014-2017), as well as two seasons
with the Ligue de hockey midget AAA du Québec's L’Intrépide de Gatineau (2012-2014).
Renaud was assistant coach with Quebec at the 2013 World Under-17
Hockey Challenge in Victoriaville and Drummondville, Que., finishing fourth
following a 4-3 loss to the United States in the bronze-medal game. This
will be his first role with Team Canada.
Hull
was last with Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence as head coach of
Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka
Memorial Cup, winning gold. His history with Hockey Canada includes working
alongside Hay to win gold as assistant coach at the 2013 IIHF U18 World
Championship, and he was the video coach for Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team that won gold at the 2011 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup.
Hull began his coaching career in 2005 with the Peterborough Petes of the
OHL, where he was an assistant coach from 2005-2008 (winning the OHL
championship in 2006), and again from 2010-2012. He also spent two seasons
as assistant coach with the OJHL’s Peterborough Stars, from 2008-2010. As a
player, Hull played 831 NHL games over 16 seasons with Hartford,
Ottawa, the New York Rangers, Florida, Tampa Bay, and Philadelphia, and he
won a gold medal for Canada at the 1988 IIHF World Junior Championship.
In addition to the coaching staff, the team will be supported by head scout
Brad McEwen (Whitewood, Sask.), who will work with the coaches to select
Canada’s roster for the upcoming 2018 IIHF U18 World Championship. The
roster will include players whose CHL teams either missed the playoffs or
are no longer competing in the postseason.
The following will round out Team Canada’s staff in Russia:
· Goaltending consultant Jason LaBarbera (Burnaby, B.C./Calgary, WHL);
· Video coach James Emery (Calgary/Hockey Canada);
· Team physician Dr. Ed Berdusco (Orillia, Ont./Edmonton, WHL);
· Athletic therapists Brian Cheeseman (Mount Pearl, N.L./Edmonton, WHL) and
Kyle Sutton (New Glasgow, N.S./Shawinigan, QMJHL);
· Equipment manager Dan Buckland (Sudbury, Ont./Sudbury, OHL);
· Education consultant Vic Bifano (Kamloops, B.C./Kamloops, WHL); and
· Manager of hockey operations, Ben Shutron (Orleans, Ont./Hockey Canada).
Canada opens the 2018 IIHF U18 World Championship on April 19 against the
United States, and will also play Belarus, Sweden, and Switzerland in
preliminary-round action. TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of
Hockey Canada, are broadcasting 15 and 10 games respectively, including all
of Team Canada’s match-ups at the IIHF U18 World Championship.
Canada has won seven medals at the IIHF U18 World Championship, including
three gold medals (2003, 2008, 2013).
For more information on Hockey Canada and the Program of Excellence, please
visit HockeyCanada.ca
or follow along via social media on Facebook, Twitter, and Twitter.com/HC_Men.